


melodrama

by jacemaia



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 123 love, F/M, First Love, Flashbacks, alecmaia, jacemaia - Freeform, maiabat, maiaizzy, parallels malec, second love, the untold scenes of jace and maia from 213-218, third love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 12:18:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11736894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacemaia/pseuds/jacemaia
Summary: What are the memories Jace and Maia share that they'll never forget?





	melodrama

**Author's Note:**

> for yayra, 
> 
> you're going down with me.

Your first love. Maia would describe her and Jordan as a fairytale. It was everything she could ever dream of, until it wasn’t. Her fairytales, her dreams, quickly became her most terrifying nightmares. But he was her first love and he sent her down this path.

Your second love. Maia would like to say it was Simon, but there would always be Clary between them, and as much as she would like to forget that Simon left her kneeling in the dust for Clary, it was something you never forgot. Experimental, fun and nothing more, laughter, an escape route. Jace.

Your third love, your final love. It caught you by surprise, as Bat had. This love - Maia felt deep inside of her that it was forever, that this was the one and she shouldn’t let this chance get away. That she finally had to face the past of her first love, so she could take her third love for all it was. So if Bat was the one….

Why did she still think of Jace?

\---

_Maia shouldn’t have watched him. That’s where this all went south. When she watched him sleep, his eyelashes brushing his cheek bones, his face peaceful, his body relaxed, that’s where it all went wrong. Maia wondered, with her chin pressed into her palm, her hair a mess, marks lining the base of her throat, and sore thighs, what Jace dreamed of. It was a silly thing to think about, after all they’d been through, but she wondered if he dreamed or had nightmares._

_The gentle rise and fall of his chest, the soft flare of his nostrils, and the serene look on his face told her otherwise. Jace slept like the dead, which was strange for a Shadowhunter, who should be a light sleeper; ready to get up at any noise, any danger, and run or fight. Maybe it was that Jace felt safe with Maia._

_He stirred and Maia quickly sat up, wrapping the blanket around her chest and waist, pretending as if she hadn’t just been staring at the Shadowhunter in her bed. She felt him move behind her and she turned around, a smile on her face, a tilt to her head. “Tired?”_

_Jace smirked, stretching his arm behind his head and he stared at her, a dazed look in those two-colored eyes. “Maybe a little,” Jace said with a laugh, before rolling onto his side. Maia studied the scars that scattered across his back, over his sides, and she lied back down._

_Jace stared at her. Her eyes, her hair, the scars on her neck, the rise and fall of her chest, her hands laced over her collarbones, and her guarded look. Jace wondered if she ever let it down, let anything show, but he didn’t have to wonder. He had seen it, seen_ Maia _, and that’s what caused them to wound up in this bed together._

_They laid there before Jace reached up and placed his hand over hers, slowly linking their fingers. “This has to end soon.” Maia whispered. She was right. Jace had to leave, go back to the Institute, deal with this thing and that thing. And Maia had to go back to her life, take her college courses, and help Luke run the pack. They lived very different lives, yet somehow they had managed to cross paths on multiple occasions and something grew between them._

_“It doesn’t have to end now,” Jace pressed his forehead against Maia’s temple and Maia nodded, but she didn’t move. Her eyebrows furrowed and she stared at the ceiling, but her thumb circled Jace’s knuckles, and slowly that guard dropped. Jace watched it as if he was peeling an onion, layer after layer dropped, and Jace saw an anguish not unlike his own. He saw how everything affected her, saw what he had done affected her, yet here she was, letting him curl against her side._

_“Do you want to talk about it?” Jace whispered. Maia shook her head._

_“I don’t want to talk.”_

_So they didn’t. Jace moved his head and rested it against Maia’s shoulder, curling his arm across her waist. Maia let loose another breath and she turned her head, and stared at him. Neither of them looked away when they caught each other looking, not as golden light poured in through the window, not as Maia’s eyes closed again, not as Jace pressed his nose against hers._

_The moment did end._

_But it wasn’t their last moment._

_\---_

_“It’s that bartender, isn’t it? The beautiful one.” Sebastian had said. It was indeed ‘that’ bartender, that had Jace on a leash, that had his heart strings tugging and pulling so tight that they almost snapped. It was indeed that bartender he had spent a night with, or was it a week? Time with Maia passed so quickly Jace wanted to beg for it to slow down._

_It was indeed that bartender that Jace rushed to see again. Nothing else seemed to matter, he didn’t want anything to matter. He loved it, needed it, that pull. It felt good to not want to feel something, but feel something anyway. Something that left his body paralyzed, left his mind blank._

_No one had ever driven him to this point, to play the piano and smile, to feel as if he was drowning in this golden light. It was intoxicating and she wasn’t even around. Maia… Maia was… Maia was a maelstrom. What she did to him was unexplainable and it came out of nowhere. Had Jace seen it coming, this inescapable feeling, this unwavering need, this unyielding passion, he would have bolted._

_Maia’s shift at the Hunter’s Moon didn’t start until the sun was near going down and today Jace was not a patient person. He made his way to the Jade Wolf, leaving the Institute, leaving that life behind, if only for another night. With Maia, they created another world, another world of peace and understanding. Eventually, this world would collapse, or it would join the real world. But for now, Jace wanted to keep it and hold it close to his heart._

_The doors to the Jade Wolf were partially cracked open and Jace hear a rowdy laughter from within. Reason went out the window as he walked forward and slipped through the restaurant’s doors, his head down, and he scanned the room for Maia. She sat in the booth, her eyes trained on a computer screen, but every once in awhile she looked up and laughed with the pack._

_The laughter covered a solemn air that Jace could cut with a blade. The laughter died down instantaneously and Jace looked around, meeting a dozen pair of eyes. “Shadowhunter,” One of them growled, walking forward, and Maia looked up. Her face froze and she held up her hand, and the wolf stopped. He turned around and looked at Maia, but she shook her head and closed her laptop, pulling herself out of the booth._

_“Stay, eat, laugh, I’ll take care of the Shadowhunter,” Maia said this with a swagger Jace knew was faux. She strutted over to him, the heels on her boots clacking against the floors, and she grabbed the back of his shirt, pushing his head down, and nearly threw him out the front door as she walked with him._

_The Jade Wolf erupted with laughter once again. Maia braced her other hand on Jace’s chest, keeping him steady as she dragged him away from the Jade Wolf. She looked over her shoulder once, to see if any wolves had followed them, and Jace saw her facade drop. They rounded the warehouses, out of sight of the Jade Wolf, and Maia pulled him back up. “What did I tell you about a room full of Downworlders who want to kill you?” Maia chided softly, her eyes narrowed._

_“Are bygones not bygones yet?” Maia scowled at his question. She rubbed her palm across the back of her neck and Jace froze, reaching his hand up and cupping the back of her neck. His thumb smoothed down the small scar.“How many?” He whispered, his thumb rubbing her hairline at the nape of her neck._

_“Half of our pack,” Maia said, chewing on her bottom lip. “A few werewolves called Luke, they’ll be here by the end of the day. Queens was hit the hardest, Brooklyn will survive, the Bronx hasn’t called us back. You Shadowhunters work fast when you see a threat.” Maia sighed and Jace blinked slowly._

_“How?”_

_Maia laughed and she raised her eyebrows. “Oh, you’re serious? I don’t know, Jace. Attacking a Shadowhunter would have gotten them arrested,” Jace flinched, “so they just sat back and took it. Luke didn’t warn Queens fast enough, but Brooklyn and Bronx had a heads up. Doesn’t change anything.”_

_“I’m sorry,” Jace muttered._

_“I know.” Maia muttered back._

_She took his hand off the back of her neck and instead took it in her own, looping her arm around his. “Let’s talk.” Jace’s eyes widened, but he nodded. Maia made it very clear she didn’t want to hear about his life as a Shadowhunter, nor did she want to tell him about her life as a Downworlder. She tugged him forward and they started walking, Maia’s head slightly rested against his arm._

_They walked and talked for hours. Soon they were walking in circles, but neither of them said anything. Maia took Jace to the docks, but they could only stay for ten minutes before Jace felt like vomiting. He told Maia it was the smell of fish and she should understand with her heightened senses and all. But they had said so much, so much that they couldn’t take back, so Maia just gave him a look._

_“Valentine, the boat, it reminds me of that,” Jace explained and Maia nodded._

_“Hungry?” She asked, before steering them away from the docks. They blended in with the regular New York crowed, even though Jace stood out with all his black. Only a few people actually looked at them, the rest too absorbed in their own lives. Jace, in all his black, Maia in her grey shirt and red jacket, they walked past a few cafes and restaurants._

_Maia took Jace to her favorite spot, besides the Jade Wolf, and they sat down in a booth and ate, talking some more. Maia ordered for the both of them and Jace ate whatever came. He ended up choking on this one dish and Maia laughed, a loud, obnoxious, but joyful sound. She covered her mouth, her laugh getting louder as Jace chugged down a glass of water._

_Maia proceeded to eat the same dish with a straight face, eyebrows raised. “Weak,” She muttered, but Jace knew she was just teasing. They stayed for another half an hour, or maybe a lifetime, before Maia paid for them and they left. Maia told him he could make it up to her by paying off his growing tab at the Hunter’s Moon._

_That was how the rest of their day went. They talked, walked, and laughed. Jace’s phone rang a few times, as did Maia’s, but neither of them answered. Life could go on without them for a day. Missions would happen and Jace would just miss them. Eventually the sun started going down and Maia squeezed Jace’s arm, before pulling away. “I have to get back. New wolves and all.”_

_“Right.” Jace nodded. Maia smiled and she raised her eyebrows._

_“Bye.” She said and Jace laughed. He watched as Maia turned around, heading back the way they came. He watched and he watched until her red jacket disappeared into the crowd. Eventually they would have to end, but this was another moment, another memory Jace would never forget._

_It was also not their last._

_\----_

_Jace came back to the Jade Wolf and Maia huffed out a laugh. Luckily, Luke was there, and even though he gave her a look, Maia waved him off. Luke grinned and he huffed out his own chuckle and if this was a cartoon, steam would be coming out of Maia’s ears. She threw Jace out again, but they ended up walking and talking just like before._

_Until Jace lead her back to the Institute and Maia shook her head. “I don’t think I’m welcomed.”_

_Jace scoffed, grabbing her shoulders gently. “If Shadowhunters can walk in and out of the Hunter’s Moon and Jade Wolf as they please, I think you can come into the Institute. Plus after the Downworlder Cabinet, the rules are a little more relaxed.”_

_Maia still didn’t look convinced. Jace blinked for a moment before he reached forward and pulled up her turtle neck, until it was tucked under her chin. Maia shuddered as his fingers brushed her scars. Jace pushed her sleeves down, hiding her arms to her wrists. He gave her his jacket and nodded. Maia smirked, placing her fists on her hips, chin up. “Am I pretentious enough to pass as a Shadowhunter?”_

_“Perfect.” Jace whispered._

_They didn’t make it past the second hallway, before Jace was kissing her. Maia pushed him away and Jace grunted when his back hit the wall. “Deja vu?” He asked and Maia smirked, placing her hands on his chest and kissing him, letting Jace wrap his arms around her waist._

_Maia angled their bodies so her face couldn’t be seen. Even looking like a stuck up Shadowhunter in black, she wasn’t sure about Jace’s plan. Maybe because it had come from Jace. But she still kissed him, a smile slowly growing on her face, and she mumbled against his lips. “Use your lips. You kiss like a fish.”_

_Jace blinked rapidly, pulling his head back. Maia smirked and pulled him forward by the collar of his shirt, kissing him again. She slowed it down, holding the underside of Jace’s chin, and helping him through it. She kept laughing and Jace held the back of her neck, pulling her forward. “Better.” She mumbled with an appreciative sigh._

_Jace nodded, kissing her again, spinning them around. “I’m a fast learner.” Maia rolled her eyes, gripping Jace’s shirt harder. She tilted her head up, pressing her nose against his, kissing him more. Jace reached down to grip her thigh. They heard voices and Maia pulled away, wiping off her lips. Jace leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as two Shadowhunters walked by. Maia watched them walk around the corner, before giving Jace the all clear._

_Jace grabbed her waist, tugging her into him again, and Maia smiled. “Jace, there you are-” Maia yanked away from Jace, which caused him to bite her lip. She grunted softly and wiped her bottom lip as a tall, black haired Shadowhunter rounded the corner._

_His eyes widened and he put his hand up, oddly gesturing to the two of them, and Maia wiped off her lips again. Jace opened his mouth to speak, but the Shadowhunter put his fingers to his lips, shushing him. Maia snorted softly, looking down. “I think I’m going to go,” Maia whispered and she took Jace’s jacket off, handing it to him._

_“Maia, this is Alec.” Jace said, awkwardly sliding his arms back into his jacket. Maia could cut the tension in the air with her claws. She nodded and held her hand out, and Alec shook it._

_“Maia? As in Luke’s Maia?”_

_“I’d like to think I’m my own person, but yeah.” Maia watched a look passed between brother and brother, before she nodded slowly, feeling uncomfortable. “So, I’m going to go.”_

_“I’ll walk you out,” Alec and Jace said at the same time and Maia tried to swallow down her laugh. Alec gave Jace a pointed look. “You’re needed in the ops room.” Alec waited, his hands clasped behind his back, before Jace sighed and walked off._

_Maia snorted and Alec slowly took his hands from behind his back, and gestured Maia forward. She fake curtsied, before walking in front of Alec, pushing up the sleeves of her shirt. “Has Jace…” Alec started, gesturing with his hands again. Maia struggled to keep up with the long legged Shadowhunter, having to take two steps for his every one. “Has he been with you this entire time?”_

_Maia faltered, but she caught up with Alec again. She nodded with a shrug. Alec nodded back. “He seems happier, when we see him. Care-free, less… burdened. He doesn’t talk to me. Does he talk to you?” Alec asked and Maia smiled softly, nodding._

_“More recently, yes.”_

_They reached the doors and Alec stopped Maia from leaving. “It was nice to meet you, Maia. Thank you.” Maia gave the Head of the Institute a puzzled look as he walked away. She shook her head, a smile on her face, as she left, bouncing down the Institute steps._

_That wasn’t their last moment, either._

_\---_

_Maia looked up from her book when she saw the Shadowhunter in the Jade Wolf._ She’s cute _. Maia smirked, remembering overhearing her talk to Simon about her. She flipped her page and went back to reading as the Shadowhunter walked over, hands lightly placed on her hips. Isabelle Lightwood. Jace’s sister._

_Maia pushed the chair out with her foot, closing her book for a moment. She wondered if Alec told Izzy about her, or maybe if Jace accidentally let something slip. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but it made her insides turn over and over. In a good way._

_But as the conversation went on and Simon was oh so carefully brought up, Maia snorted. “You’re here on Simon’s behalf?” Maia asked incredulously, eyebrows raised. Simon was a nice guy. Maia let go of the small grudge she held against him, but she saw his game before Simon even shot his first shot. Clary was no longer available, so he ran right back to her._

_Maia didn’t care who Simon dated, but she had enough self respect that she wasn’t going to let him in with open, loving arms. He had made his choice. It seemed that now that his first choice wasn’t in love with him, Simon had to go to his second choice. The thing was, Maia would never be okay with being someone’s second choice. She was either first or she wasn’t an option._

_“He’s a really good guy, Maia, give him a chance.”_

_Maia chuckled softly and she shook her head. She closed her book all the way and set it down, her signature tilt of the head back in play. “My problem isn’t with Simon per say, Izzy, it’s with Clary. She takes and she takes and-”_ _  
_   
“Never gives?” Izzy guessed and Maia grinned.

_“Amen to that,” Maia hummed and Izzy laughed softly._

_Maia ended up doubling her order, so she and Izzy could sit back and laugh and eat their food. Maia spoke around her chopsticks, muttering, “Plus, I’m not even that into Simon.” Izzy rose her eyebrows and she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table as she ate her mushu pork._

_“It’s nothing, really, just a bit of fun.” Maia whispered, but Izzy still waited expectantly for Maia to give her a name. She sighed, stabbing her food with the chopsticks, before looking back at Izzy. “It’s Jace.”_

_  
_ _Izzy choked, swallowing her food harshly. She groaned, staring at Maia incredulously, before she nodded. “That explains it. He’s a lot… happier recently. Less… stiff and burdened.” Alec had said the same thing. Maia shook her head, eating more of her food. She opened her mouth to respond, but one of the wolves waved Maia down, before crossing his arms._

_She knew that look. Maia groaned and she squeezed Izzy’s shoulder, before getting up. “Your Shadowhunter is here,” the wolf said, his eyebrows pinched tightly. Maia crossed her arms as well and she looked out the window, watching Jace pace. She huffed out a breath, before turning back to the werewolf._

_“He’s not my Shadowhunter.”_ _  
_   
“Well he isn’t here for the food, is he?”

_  
_ _Maia snorted. She pushed open the door, leaning against the frame, and crossed her ankles before clearing her throat. Jace turned around, scratching the back of his neck, a sheepish smile on his face. He coughed gently and Maia waited, pretending to look at her nails._

_“Things are getting really crazy back at the Institute,” Jace whispered and Maia nodded. She understood. She sighed and pushed the door open, because one more Shadowhunter in the Jade Wolf wouldn’t hurt anybody, and she ushered Jace inside before closing the door. She stopped by the kitchen to order Jace’s favorite dish, which she wouldn’t know if Jace didn’t stop by so often._

_“What’s Izzy doing here?” Jace asked, shocked. Maia smirked, “I guess it’s a Lightwood thing?”_

_“Herondale.”_

_Maia huffed. She pulled up another chair for Jace, before sitting back down. Izzy had a sly smile on her face and Maia knew instantly that Izzy was going to be her favorite Lightwood. “At least he never called you book club.” Maia raised her eyebrows at Jace, who slid down in his chair._

_“Kaelie?”_

_The trio sat back and laughed, eating, sharing jokes. Jace had to sometimes shake Izzy’s shoulders before she shared too many embarrassing details, but Maia just listened with a slight smile on her face. Eventually, Izzy got up to leave, looking back at Jace. “Coming?”_ _  
_   
Jace looked over at Maia and Maia nodded. He could stay with her tonight. “I think I’m gonna stay here.” Izzy shrugged and she pinched Jace’s shoulder, before sashaying out of the Jade Wolf. Maia and Jace stayed up after the pack went to their respective warehouses to sleep and cleaned up the Jade Wolf. They made the small walk back to Maia’s apartment and Jace kicked off his shoes and his socks.

_Maia pursed her lips. “I know you hate street clothes in your bed-”_

_“Just go.” Maia sighed. She held back the cringe as Jace climbed under her sheets. She changed in the other room, sliding on her shorts and a tank top. A few minutes later she climbed into the bed with Jace, pulling his back into her chest. He was shaking. Maia pressed her palm against his chest and sighed, digging her chin into his shoulder gently._

_“Do you want to talk about it?”_

_Jace shook his head and Maia nodded, hooking her other arm around his waist before she fell asleep. Jace continued shaking the entire night, but he held onto Maia like a lifeline. Maia knew that shaking. He was panicked, but she wouldn’t force him to talk about it. Jace talked about things on his own time. So for now, she slept with him cuddled against her chest, and she waited for the dawn light to bathe them in gold._

_Neither was this their last moment._

_\---_

_Maia led Bat to one of the smaller warehouses, a little bit farther from the Jade Wolf. She held a box in her arms, looking over at the new werewolf, who was stumbling. Maia held back her laugh. He was easy to get drunk. “Sorry,” She was saying, the keys dangling off her belt loop. “The bigger and closer warehouses are taken. Maybe you can bunk with someone if they start to like you.”_

_Bat nodded, giving her a small grin. “Thanks.”_

_Maia nodded. She put the box down and unlocked the warehouse door, sliding it open. It was a small space, but big enough for one person. There was a bed in the corner, a sink on the other side of the room, and a small door where Bat guessed the bathroom was. A couch just big enough for two people and a table decorated the opposite side of the room. “I can take you shopping later, make it more homely.”_

_Maia walked into the warehouse and Bat followed her. She set the box down beside his bed, placing sheets, pillowcases, and blankets on the bed. She handed him two bars of soap and a towel as well. Bat wiggled the bar of soap in his hands and Maia chuckled as he walked into the bathroom to take a shower._

_She began to make his bed, when she heard footsteps. “Maia.” Maia turned at Luke’s voice, a smile on her face. She walked up to her father, eyebrows raised._

_“What’s up, Luke? Bat’s just getting settled in.” Maia paused at the look in Luke’s face. He took her arm gently and tugged her out of the warehouse and Maia shut the door, before leaning against it. This was the same look Luke gave her when he had told her Alaric was dead. Maia’s lip began to tremble. Who else was dead? Who would they be burying alone this time?_

_“The Soul Sword… the Clave doesn’t have it.” Luke said, his fingers twitching at his sides. Maia knew he was trying to resist clenching his fists. “Alec told Magnus and Magnus told me yesterday. We don’t know the full story but…”_

_“The thing that killed half our pack, the thing that killed_ Alaric _, the weapon that could kill us all is out there?” Maia whispered. “And we don’t know who has it?” Luke nodded slowly and Maia scoffed, before kicking the side of the warehouse. “What good is this Downworlder Cabinet if they continue to lie to us, Luke!”_

_“Alec just found out-”_

_“Likely story.” Maia sighed. She heard the water stop running and she looked back at Luke. “Can we… talk about this tomorrow? We both need clear heads.” Luke nodded. He tugged Maia forward and kissed her forehead, muttering that they would figure this out. Maia was shaking, but she nodded, before slipping back into the warehouse._

_Bat had slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a too big shirt that one of the pack members had given up for him. Together they made up his bed, before lying back together, and staring at the bare ceiling. Their fingertips almost brushed on several occasions. There was so much Maia had to tell Bat and now she had to add the possibility of his death to the mix. He had just survived it once, he didn’t need to know it might be coming to claim him again._

_“Something on your mind?” Bat looked at Maia as if she was his world, but she continued to stare at the ceiling._

_Maia blinked and she turned on her side, looking at Bat. “Just wondering where I should take you to go shopping. Maybe a rug and some couch pillows? A few posters and a color scheme would help.” Bat narrowed his eyes and Maia gave him one of her smiles to keep him from asking anymore questions._

_Before Bat could respond someone knocked on the door. Maia sighed and grumbled that it was open, thinking that one of the new wolves from Russell’s ‘pack’ needed something. Mais was still iffy about letting Russell back in, especially after what he did to Bat. She wasn’t sure of Bat’s reaction, having to see his face every day, but his pack members definitely deserved another chance. It wasn’t her choice to give Russell one._

_It was Bat’s._

_“Who’s that?”_   


_Maia rolled over at Bat’s voice, looking up and seeing Jace in the doorway. She growled. Had he known? Maia sat up, placing her foot on the ground, before she pushed herself forward. “I’ll be right back.” She muttered to Bat, before grabbing Jace’s shirt sleeve, and tugging him forward, pushing the warehouse door close behind them._

_She clenched her hand around his wrist and marched them out of earshot, before spinning around. She tried to swallow her anger. Before, Maia would have thrown punches first, asked questions later, but Jace had at least earned more than that. She started pacing, trying to control her breathing, before she settled a glare on Jace. “Did you know?” She whispered, clenching her fists at her sides._

_“Who was that?”_ _  
_   
“Did you know, Jace? Did you know the Clave didn’t have the Soul Sword?”

_Jace swallowed._

_“That sword killed Alaric. It killed half of my family,” Maia’s voice wavered and she pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, before she started pacing again. She shook her head, looking back at Jace. “That sword killed a hundred Downworlders, Jace. It ruined everything. How could… how could you not tell me?”_

_“Maia,” Jace whispered. “I didn’t-”_

_“Go.” Maia muttered, placing her hands on her hips. Jace stepped forward, but Maia swatted his hand away, leveling another glare at him. Her eyes flashed green and Jace took a step back. Maia looked away, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Go, Jace, just go.”_

_“Valentine, he-”_

_“Valentine!” Maia shouted, her chest heaving. “The man who hates us Downworlders? He wants us dead, Jace. Are you telling me he has the Soul Sword again? You’re supposed to protect us. Shadowhunters are supposed to_ protect _us. We are not your enemy! You couldn’t care less if we lived or died.” Maia gasped._

_Jace swallowed._

_“I need to look after the pack,” Maia said, nodding. “We have even more new members now and Bat needs me. He can’t go through this alone, not like I did. We can’t do this anymore. You cloud my judgement, Jace, you’re bad for me. The pack needs me. My people need me.”_

_“Maia.” Jace was begging now, but Maia had made up her mind._

_She stepped away from Jace, putting her hand out weakly. “You need to leave, Jace.” Maia looked up at him, looked into his eyes and saw the pain. She knew that same pain was in her own eyes. Jace took a step back. And another. Then another. And he turned around and Maia watched him walk away. She sniffed, tears running down her cheeks, before she wiped them away impatiently._

_That was their final moment._

_\---_

Maia thought back on these moments as Luke held her around the waist, as she screamed, digging her nails into his arms. He lifted her off the ground and Maia sobbed, before kicking him in the knee. She fell to the ground and rushed over to Jace, her knees barking in pain. “No,” She muttered, holding the sides of his face. “No, no, no.” Maia whispered, shaking his body gently.

“Jace!”

Maia pressed her hand against his stomach, tugging at his clothes, silently begging him to open his eyes. Her forehead touched his, her tears falling off her face and running down his cheeks. Maia bit down on her lip, sniffling, wiping her nose. “Jace, _please_.”

Someone tugged her up and Maia collapsed against Alec’s chest, curling her fist against her face. Alec pressed his hand against her shoulder and Maia’s knees shook, but Izzy pressed her chest against her back before she could fall. Maia shook her head, sniffling and looking back at Jace.

Izzy hugged her around the waist, burying her face in Maia’s back. Alec held them both up, even as their knees grew weak. Maia bit her lip and the trio slowly fell to the ground. Izzy held Alec’s hand as she held Maia’s hand as well. Luke watched over them, letting the three of them grieve. Maia hiccuped and Alec rubbed her back soothingly.

So Jace wasn’t her second love.

Jace was her third. Her love for him snuck up on her. She didn’t know when she started falling for him. When these feelings came into play. They had come out of thin air, slowly but surely settling in her heart. She groaned against Alec’s chest as that same heart throbbed, as her lungs burned from crying out for Jace.

What did it matter if Jace was her third love, the love she wanted to have forever, the love she never wanted to let go…

If he was dead?


End file.
